Date:         Tue, 04 Jun 1996 18:15:58 -0400
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Tom Forhan <tforhan@usa.pipeline.com>
Subject:      Re: G60 in a Vanagon

Ric said:

>There is a major issue in putting "high performance" VW watercooled engines 
>in Vanagons, etc....and that is the rpms and torque production.

>You will be sorely disapointed in putting a G60 or even a 16v engine in a Vanagon...it 
>will not have any "off the line" power...and then at the upper end, the HP will be 
>useless because the frontal area of the van will prevent the same high speeds that the 
>engine can deliver in the sedan.

I agree with the first snip, not so sure about the second

If the high-performance engine has more or less equal torque at the
lower end, and more torque at the upper end, then off-the-line performance
will not suffer, and you can still put that higher torque to work climbing
those long hills on the Interstates, which I'll bet is the biggest
performance complaint of most Vanagon owners.

I also agree that the frontal area and weight of the Vanagon -especially a Syncro
Westie-  will eventually overpower the engine, but I have no desire to exceed
80MPH in my Vanagon, and there are many times I'd like to be able to maintain 70!

Here is some data on the stock Corrado G60:

RPM    TORQUE      
1000    97    
1500    117   
2000    130   
2500    140   
3000    149   
3500    157        
4000    154        
4500    156        
5000    135        
5500    135        
6000    125    

The torque peaks  between 3500-4500 RPM, which means, with my 90 Syncro's gearing, that
maximum power will be available at around 70MPH, perfect for the Interstates. 
Off-the-line?  I don't have complete wasserboxer figures, but the 2.1 liter engine
produces maximum torque of 117 ft-lb @ 3200 rpm.  Certainly, the G60 produces more 
torque at that specific point than the stock engine, and VW would have engineered the 
gear ratios around the maximum torque RPM. 

Without all the torque data, I cannot be certain, but it appears to me that the G60 
engine may not be as inappropriate as Ric suggests.

Anybody have a torque curve for the 2.1 liter wasserboxer engine?  Anybody in beautiful 
San Lius Obisbo gone to drive that Syncro Westie with the chipped G60?

Tom F.
90 Syncro Westie